91Èȱ¬

I will be keeping my fingers crossed for a Luke Donald victory at the Masters - a thoroughly decent bloke who has all the attributes to win at Augusta!

Donald is amongst a host of British golfers in with a shout come Sunday evening. This is the year that one of them slips in to the green jacket

Barker Davis was the reporter's name. I think he was a bit premature in his article which inferred that our players were nice guys and didn't have the will to make it to the top. At the time a number of our boys were threatening to breakthrough but had yet to really establish themselves by winning outside of Europe. They have done that now and in Tiger's recent demise we have seen them triumph consistently.

Would be nice to see our boys win all four this year......

I thought that article was spot on. None of those British guys have won a major yet.

G Mac

I am a great admirer of Luke Donald, but he DOES have Luke Donald disease! If the definition of that is coining $20M for three wins. No-one has won more PGA Tour money with just three visits to the winners enclosure.
Luke may have rebuilt his swing, but to what effect? He's still short and crooked, still sprays it when in contention, and his best-short-game-in-the-world doesn't disguise the fact that he hasn't won as much as a golfer of his talent (admittedly the product of natural ability AND hard work) might reasonably be expected to.

Is there a perception in the US that European golfers pile up owgr points in Europe and bottle it when they play in the USA? YES!!! Is it true? Probably not, but none of the current crop of European golfers have won more in the US than Donald's three tournaments (one a 54-hole rain-shortened event) apart from Garcia.
"Quick bucks at the Scottish Open"? Not if he missed the cut, unless he was being slipped beaucoup appearance money. Not to mention the fact that he was (I'm assuming here) obligated to play the following week for his sponsor in Canada, the PGA Tour equivalent of appearance money.

Luke has a great chance this week, but his course management has been like a haywire GPS on occasion at Augusta and hopefully he'll be able to retain focus for 72 holes and contend to the last, win preferably.

Not exactly as bad as your severed head effort Mister Ben, and much better than the geographically challenged piece about Luke in The Independent by a guy called Corrigan who confuses Florida with Chicago and Illinois with Louisiana. Pathetic.

Good luck, Luke, hoping you enjoy a wonderful Masters and a great year. But a dose of reality's not a bad thing either.
Assassin? Let's hope so. And your paintings? Superb.

Guys Graeme Mcdowell is NOT British. He is from Northern Ireland which is part of the United Kingdom...not Britain. Will the 91Èȱ¬ please stop getting this wrong!!

Ben - take your point that the Telegraph article is 'ill thought out' and I would add, poorly worded. Perhaps it is also typical of the trend for hyperbole and overstatement of many of todays commentators and critics. However, I do think there is a kernal of truth to it. Take your 'not bothered' interpretation (and lets be fair, that is what he says) and treat it as an overstatement of 'lacks the pyschology, or experience' (and he does mention the experience bit). Then it becomes a more valid argument. MacDowell has shown tremendous mental strength and coolness under pressure in winning a major, and in his Ryder Cup exploits. Kaymer gives off the impression that he is a machine, and simply immune to pressure. But other young guns have not shown such composure in a tight sport, outside of the Ryder Cup, or have only shown it very recently, or very briefly. Take the current flavour of the month, Martin Laird. Blown it several times coming down the stretch, only in the last 12 months has he turned those situations into wins. Westwood has been in the hunt for several majors in the last few years, having bounced back from a miserable stretch, but is yet to show the kind of late scoring burst that many of the best show. Casey, for example, last year, got into Masters contention, then blew up. Rose seemingly consistently plays 2 rounds out of 4 in majors very well, and then has a disasterous round.

At the time it was written, that Telegraph article pointed to a trend of European failures under pressure, even if the conclusion that it was due to lack of ambition was wrong. There is still a ring of truth to the charge that 'in the crucible of actual contention' European players have something to prove. I think, though, that the up turn in general success on the US tour, combined with a number of other factors, mean that many of those same Europeans are now on the brink, ready to join Kaymer and MacDowell as major winners, ready to show the mental fortitude to withstand the slings and arrows of coming down the stretch in contention at a major; to see the opportunity to win a major, and have the kind of deadly burst of scoring that grabs that opportunity, that we've seen so often from the likes of Woods and Mickelson in the recent past.

But yeah - lack of amibition it is not. It is more better termed Norman Disease, if you ask me. Or Montgomery-itis.

#9, matzov,
Don't let the facts get in the way of your dogma.
Your comments about Laird are ridiculous; where are your examples of Laird being in contention more than 12 months ago and failing to win? He had a couple of high placings, to be sure, but was never contending to win. First time he did, in Las Vegas, he won.
Casey: "Last year got into Masters contention, then blew up." He didn't even make the cut.
Your name is not Corrigan by any chance?

Petty squabbling - Donald is a class act, and I for one believe his touch around the green could just make the difference this week.

Only one of a number of exceptionally good players can ever win a tournament, and whether in the Masters or this Saturday's medal at my own course, you can be sailing along compiling the score of your life, then out of nowhere, a bad lie (Donald finds a divot on the 3rd fairway when in a share of the lead with Tiger in the USPGA a few years ago - he doubled Tiger birdies and the tournament was over), a bad bounce (I hit a sprinkler head last Sunday and disappeared into a gorse bush - unplayable and a double bogey ensued!!) or simply a bad swing with awful consequences (Justin Rose on the 17th at Augusta a few years ago). The margins are so very very fine !

I am sure they all enjoy the trappings of their increadible wealth (just follow them on Twitter and see!!) but my guess is that once they step on the first tee, money is irrelevant.

Great article Ben - here's hopeing for a miracle cure to Donalds Disease this weekend and that Tigeritis continues.

kwiniaskagolfer -

Indeed, never let the facts get in the way... Laird finished 4, 4 and 7 in the space of a month in 2008. Thats over 12 months ago right? He then came 2nd in the same Tahoe-Reno tournament that he finished 4th in the year before. All that before the Justin Timberlake win in 2009. Then, in 2010 he had a 4, two 2s and a 3. I'd say that was evidence of getting into contention, and not winning. Moreover, a decent percentage of those performances, were at the same two tournaments. This year is a real change of form trend.

But don't let an odd definition get in the way of the chance to make a snide comment, which you seem keener on, that sensible discussion.

With Casey you are absolutely right to point out my error. I was thinking of his 2008 performance...

My point was, matzov, that he wasn't in contention, just had great finalk rounds which lifted him up the leaderboard or, in the case of Reno2, John Rollins was so far ahead - Laird three shots behind but shot 69 in Round 4.
He didn't play well in the last few holes at Kapalua, but was never going to beat Ogilvy.

No "petty squabbling" Tony, but facts are facts, neatly avoided by Dirs' Donald diagnosis.
Like you, I hope Luke has a great week.

Daveolengend - You say that Graeme Mcdowell isn't British because Northern Ireland isn't part of the Britain! This has nothing to do with it! All citizens of Northern Ireland are deemed to be British, however under the 1998 Belfast Agreement they also are entitled to be Irish citizens. It's a personal choice, and it's far too simplistic to say that if you're from Northern Ireland, you're not British.

He doesn't hit it far enough to win, but I did have 15 each way at 33 to 1 for the par 3!!!!! :)

You don't have to be a massive hitter to win at Augusta; his approach and superb short game is ideal to get round there in a very low score. Just needs it to stay dry!

Please go and read more of my thoughts about the upcoming tournament at :)

The article is a bit too much of a puff, just as that to which it responds was a bit too much of a hatchet job. Donald is a very fine golfer and he conducts himself well, he's one of many in with a chance but he's got to make that leap up before his career can justify pieces like this. I don't think that winning his 3rd PGA title in 10 years at the Matchplay catapults him into a different stratosphere any more than winning the Madrid Open last year between a couple of handy placings did. And please, let's hear no more about the importance of Ryder Cup performances from European journalists.

I accept that the European challenge is broader than before, but I think that it lacks the cutting edge at its apex that existed in the mid 1980's to the mid 1990's. Harrington, Kaymer, and GMac have won Majors for sure, but a European crowd that consisted of Lyle, Faldo, Woosnam, Olazabal, Langer, and Ballesteros (admittedly they did not all peak at the same time) was surely stronger than the current bunch whatever the world rankings might say.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love one of them to win it, but (with the exception of Harrington, Kaymer, and GMac) that would be the time for a puff piece like this, not before.

@andy_247
actually you are completely wrong. northern ireland is not and has never been a part of great britain, hence the title 'the united kingdon of great britain AND northern ireland'. britain is the island that includes england, scotland and wales. it becomes the united kingdom when it includes northern ireland. so Mcdowell is not british at all and davolengend is absolutely correct in what he said. following the 98 belfast agreement nothing RE this matter changed one bit. yes, they may now be able to call themselves irish, but they are still not british, in the same way that a sicilian may be called italian but an italian from the mainland cannot be called sicilian. i think you completely misunderstood davolengends point, he was not trying to make a political point he was saying that those in northern ireland are not british citizens and he was simply stating a fact.

'4th again. Nice cheque though. Where's my vineyard? Ooh...US Open in June, mark that on my calendar dear, I can make $50,000 just for showing up.'